Photo-assisted epilation--review and personal observations

The perception of unwanted hair is culturally dependent, and its removal is a multibillion-dollar business in North America each year. Examples of hair removal techniques on the market today include shaving, depilatories, wax, epilation, electrolysis and photo-epilation. Electrolysis, or electrothermolysis, was the only known permanent hair removal modality to date. However, long term or permanent hair removal with lasers is becoming a reality for treatment of hirsuitism or unwanted hair. Laser hair removal is an exciting new field with improvements occurring continually, making it difficult to stay abreast of the newest treatments and their effectiveness. This review provides an overview of hair follicle anatomy, mechanisms of photo-destruction to hair follicles and physics of lasers and the skin. The different types of lasers used for hair removal, their mechanisms and clinical research are reviewed.